The Sundance Film Festival is preparing for its final run in Utah, making plans in six months to showcase new independent movies, pay tribute to Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford, and look back at the festival’s 40-plus years in Park City.
In an open letter to patrons released Monday, Eugene Hernandez, the event’s director, laid out early plans for the 2026 festival, the last in Utah. Sundance Institute announced in March that it would move the festival to Boulder, Colorado, after its Park City contract expires.
Sundance’s goal, Hernandez wrote, is to make next year’s event “one to remember, a celebration full of gratitude and joy.”
One surprise in Hernandez’ letter is something he didn’t mention: The Egyptian Theatre in Park City, whose marquee has been a festival icon for decades, won’t be used as a venue in 2026.
The festival is scheduled to run Jan. 22 to Feb. 1 in Park City, plus some venues in Salt Lake City.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Eugene Hernandez at the Sundance Film Festival Awards in Park City on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
Here are details Hernandez, who also serves as the institute’s director of public programming, shared about Sundance’s plans for 2026:
How many movies?
The festival’s program will be about the same size it’s been since the pandemic — around 90 feature films, 50 or so short films, and some episodic projects. World premieres will roll out during the first half of the festival, Jan. 22-27, Hernandez wrote.
The festival’s awards ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30, at The Ray Theatre in Park City.
Hernandez’ letter did not give a timeline for when ticket packages or passes would go on sale. Nor did he say how much tickets will cost.
Filmmakers have until Sept. 1 to submit short films, Sept. 12 for episodic content and Sept. 22 for feature films — though they are encouraged, through discounted submission fees, to get their work in early. Traditionally, Sundance announces its slate of selected films sometime after Thanksgiving.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Park City’s Main Street is closed to traffic as Sundance visitors walk the historic blocks on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
Which venues will be used?
Randy Barton, theater manager for The Egyptian, told The Salt Lake Tribune that after Sundance announced the festival would move to Boulder in 2027, his theater opted not to be a venue in 2026.
The Egyptian features live theater and concert performances; Sundance is the only movie event it’s hosted for several years, Barton said. Though the theater decided not to reinstall projectors for one last festival, he said, it may arrange for some event to commemorate its history with Sundance.
Except for the Egyptian, Sundance will use the same Park City theaters it did in 2025: The Eccles Theatre, Holiday Village Cinemas, Library Center Theatre, The Ray and Redstone Cinemas.
Making a return in 2026 is The Yarrow Theatre, in the DoubleTree by Hilton Park City - The Yarrow. In 2025, The Yarrow was used as the festival headquarters and the hub for artists, industry and press. For 2026, the HQ will move back to its longtime location, the Sheraton Park City.
Venues familiar to longtime festival goers — the MARC (formerly the Racquet Club), the Temple Theatre (in the Temple Har Shalom synagogue) and the Prospector Square Theatre — have largely been unused since the COVID-19 pandemic and will remain out of commission.
The Filmmakers Lodge, in the old Elks Lodge on Old Main, will return as a location for the festival’s “Beyond Film” conversations and panel discussions. The Box at The Ray will also host conversations, and The Park will be used as a private events venue.
Vehicle traffic will be blocked from Park City’s Main Street like it was in 2025.
Two venues will be in use in Salt Lake City: The Broadway Centre Cinemas and the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.
Seeing movies online
During the festival’s last four days, Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, a selection of festival titles will be available to limited online audiences through Sundance’s web portal, Hernandez wrote. That includes all the titles in the festival’s five competition categories, as well as a handful of other films made available by their producers.
The 2025 online presentation was marred by reports of footage being pirated. The documentary “Selena y Los Dinos,” about the Tejano singer Selena, was removed from the online portal when clips of Selena’s performances were leaked online. Sundance also pulled the dark comedy “Twinless” from the web portal, after sex scenes featuring star Dylan O’Brien were shared without permission.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Park City’s Main Street is closed to traffic as Sundance visitors walk the historic blocks on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
The Park City ‘legacy’
Events meant to appreciate Sundance’s long history of premiering “seminal independent cinema” in Park City will be held during the festival’s second half, starting Jan. 28, Hernandez wrote.
The events will include archival screenings, restorations, “legacy talks” and more, Hernandez wrote.
With the festival moving to Boulder in 2027, Hernandez wrote that “right now it’s important for us to take this moment and acknowledge all the milestones and memories that we’ve shared together in Park City.”
Hernandez added that “the local community across Utah is a crucial part of the Sundance Film Festival: our dedicated Institute team, passionate volunteers, partners who have uplifted our gathering, local artists who have collaborated with us, and enthusiastic audiences.”
“Without you,” he continued, “the festival would not be what it is today and into the future.”
The festival’s history in Park City began in 1981, when the Utah/U.S. Film Festival that first began in Salt Lake City in 1978 relocated to the ski town — several months before Redford founded the Sundance Institute. Sundance took over operations of the United States Film Festival in 1985 and changed the festival’s name in 1991.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Redford says a few words at the opening news conference for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Park CIty, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.
A tribute to Redford
Redford, who turns 89 in August, will be honored at the institute’s fundraiser gala, Friday, Jan. 23, at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. Proceeds will support the year-round work Redford championed when he launched the institute in 1981.
Redford, Hernandez wrote, “identified the profoundness of uplifting new voices and protecting the essence of independent storytelling when he first embarked on this artistic endeavor with the support of so many others.”
“That mission continues today and will for decades to come,” he said.